Road Trip: ABQ to Phoenix via 60

We came down here from Albuquerque to visit family for Thanksgiving. I always love the drive down, and i try to take a different route each time, to see the beautiful, rugged and mostly empty landscapes of the Southwest.

Western New Mexico/ Eastern Arizona is barely populated, with most of the land set aside for Native Reservations and National Parks.

This time we turned off I25 before Grants, NM, skimming through the stunning cliffs and lava fields of El Malpais' eastern borders, before picking up 36 South to Highway 60 on the northern edge of the Gila Wilderness.

New Mexico is littered with mountain peaks, and this region is no exception, providing ample vistas to soften the driving tedium.